An unnamed individual speaking on behalf of a collective of lost souls. He is trapped in a liminal, barren environment, caught between life and death. Paralyzed by shame and spiritual emptiness, he struggles to express his emotions and deeply fears the judgment of heavenly eyes, all while yearning for redemption.

A collective of spiritually dead, scarecrow-like figures who populate a desolate, cactus-filled wasteland. Filled with straw rather than souls, they suffer from a loss of humanity and extreme cultural decay. They lean on each other for camaraderie but are ultimately unable to find or offer true fulfillment, choosing instead to pray to broken stones.

A watchful, heavenly force that resides in death's other kingdom. Represented visually through penetrating eyes and a perpetual star, this entity embodies the judgment and salvation that the broken souls desperately desire. The presence acts as an ultimate authority that the figures cannot face directly.

Individuals who have made the transition into death's other kingdom. Unlike the hollow men, they are not lost or violent, possessing the conviction and faith necessary to reach a higher state of existence. They remember the hollow men dimly, recalling them only as stuffed scarecrows.

An ambitious ivory trader from a separate literary work whose death introduces the poem. He achieves immense personal and financial success that is ultimately ruined by extreme moral emptiness and arrogance. His violent, unmoored life serves as a cautionary parallel to the spiritual death of the poem's speakers.

A historical revolutionary who attempted to blow up the London Parliament. Within the context of the poem, he is represented by the Old Guy straw effigies burned on Bonfire Night. This tradition directly inspires the scarecrow-like imagery of the hollow men, linking his failed violent rebellion to their current helpless state.